Linux Mint has been one of the most popular desktop distros for a long, long time. Linux Mint 17 is almost here and ZDNet thinks it could be the best desktop distro ever released. It's a bold statement and no doubt there are some who would vehemently disagree with it. As always, beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Over the decades—yes decades—I've been using Linux desktops, I've had many favorites. Now, I have a new one: Linux Mint 17. I expect it to be my favorite for a long time to come.

I love Linux Mint 17 with the Cinnamon 2.2 interface. This GNOME 3.x-based desktop is a great windows, icons, menus, and pointer (WIMP) interface. Windows XP users will find it far more familiar than Windows 8's oddball tiled desktop. I also like the MATE interface, which builds on top of the GNOME 2.x interface; but for simplicity's sake I'm going to focus just on Cinnamon.

I'm always hesitant to declare this distro or that distro as "the best" for the simple reason that every user's needs and tastes are different. One of the best things about Linux is that there's a distro for everybody. As good as Linux Mint 17 is right now, there are plenty of other desktop distros that will work as well if not better for some users.

I did a slideshow of Linux Mint 17 Cinnamon RC recently and there's no doubt that it's a terrific Linux distribution. Most users will really like it, but I know that there are some who would prefer other distros and desktop environments regardless of how good Linux Mint 17 is in its final release.